The Comunicano Daily for Wednesday July 8th 2015

The Comunicano Daily

It's always fun to watch the moves in big business. A few years ago Microsoft acquired Nokia, largely to help them with their hardware business. At that time, Nokia then was also partnered with Siemens to form NSN on the infrastructure side of the house. Now NSN is all owned by Nokia, and the handset division is owned by Microsoft. But as our first story tells us, that's coming to an end or sure looks that way.         Major Job Cuts Expected at Microsoft Microsoft plans to announce a major new round of layoffs as early as Wednesday, as the company seeks to further cut costs amid a shifting technology landscape. The layoffs are in addition to the roughly 18,000 employees that Microsoft said it planned to let go a year ago, according to people briefed on the plans who asked for anonymity because the details were confidential.     [continue...]       But there's more to the Nokia story. One of the bright light divisions that got lost in the transition at Nokia was Maemo, a next generation Operating System (OS) that was to be the flagship to replace Symbian. The team there went off and formed Jolla, and in turn built the Sailfish OS. Yesterday we learned the company is being split into two. The reason? Smart money has Nokia snapping it up to reenter the handset business.       Mobile Maker Jolla Splits In Two, With Sailfish OS Its First Order Of Business Software or hardware? Finnish mobile device and Sailfish OS maker Jolla has always intended doing both. But that could be changing. Today the company announced it's forking itself, splitting its business into two. One of those businesses will be fully focused on pushing its Sailfish software platform forward.     [continue...]       Years back pal Tom Carter, now at F5 Networks, co-invented and successfully patented the concept of the Wi-Fi network being an extension of the mobile/cellular network. That technology, called Voice Call Continuity (VCC) was first brought to market by former client BridgePort Networks is now owned by CounterPath, whose advisory board I sit on. Well Tom and Bodie Wilhoite's vision is now coming to fruition as more and more mobile operators embrace Wi-Fi calling, but the real vision of disruption is coming from elsewhere, namely Google with ProjectFi that is so close to the original vision that I recall hearing from Tom that's it's very eerie to see it all unfold.       Project Fi Review: Google Masters Wi-Fi Calling, But Needs Better Phones For millions of us, Google is the backbone of our digital lives. So it's a little incongruous that to get to its many services, we generally go through carriers such as Comcast, Verizon or AT&T. In a few towns across America, Google has eliminated the middleman and started providing broadband service.     [continue...]       GigaOm Research is returning. And not soon enough. In an era where there's never enough insight, perspective and opinion, GigaOm's cadre of analysts always provided a very timely perspective. Sadly with the shuttering of GigaOm as we knew it, the last few months have left a void. Thankfully, the new owners are going to refill that void as pal Stowe Boyd shares the news with us.       Rebooting Gigaom Research On March 9 2015, Gigaom ceased operations because of the insolvency of Giga Omni, the corporation behind the scenes. As part of that cessation of operations Gigaom Research also closed its doors, and the network of analysts, editors, researchers, and other staff - built over years - was disbanded in one day.     [continue...]       Ever wonder how a company's story gets told?  We at Comunicano like to call it the "Brand Narrative" and today's piece in Medium provides a very insightful read on just how the company rises, falls and rises again to be sold another day. It's a great read if you are a marketer or communications pro or junkie.       How the Tech Press Forces a Narrative on Companies it Covers The tech press moves like clockwork, fitting company narratives into a predictable arc. Here's how pros deal with it. I don't remember who told me company narratives were like a clock. I was at Google, where I'd taken a job on the communications team despite zero experience in communications.     [continue...]       With the movers and shakers of content, media and technology all in Sun Valley for the Allen & Co. annual soiree, rumors will always abound. One that seems to be making th rounds is FaceBook buying Twitter. Given Twitter is searching for a new CEO, the time could be ripe for an acquisition, but given the current climate in D.C. on M&A and how consolidation of growing markets is viewed as bad it may not be as likely.       Will Facebook buy Twitter? Will Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey get caught huddling at the Duck Pond? That's a hot question as Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley media conference kicked off Tuesday - and some of Facebook's key investors are hoping and praying that the answer is "no."     [continue...]       Over in Europe the right to be forgotten in search engines is available. But not so in the USA. A consumer group is advocating that the Federal Trade Commission looks into why Google isn't offering that same opportunity to those domiciled in the USA.       A consumer group wants Google to give Americans 'the right to be forgotten' A consumer advocacy group is urging the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate why Google has not given American internet users the "right to be forgotten." In 2014, a European court mandated that Google remove search results from individuals when asked, if the results are irrelevant, outdated, or otherwise inappropriate.     [continue...]       Every Monday, I join long time pal and tech media star Ken Rutkowski on his dailyBusiness Rockstars 'cast (now video and audio) that is heard on CBS's Play.it and over 180 radio stations across the USA. During my weekly appearance I highlight a few new apps or services that can help business people do their job better or run their business more efficiently. So, in that tradition of "finding something new" today's app is "Telegram" a messaging app that works cross platform and adds some neat features like enhanced privacy.       Telegram: the best messaging service you're probably not using Every week or two a new update brings another new feature to Telegram. Photo: Telegram What Messaging App do you use? I've tried them all, settling on Telegram as my favourite cross platform chatting client. But what is the point of a great chat service if none of your friends are there?     [continue...]

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